The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom, Part III: Act 3, Chapter 2

The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom, Part III: Act 3, Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“For the love of the gods, Liam, stop scaring us like that!”

Liam eyed the rooftops as Marim used the butt of his spear to poke the unconscious man on the pavement. Upon assuming his duties, a number of snoops conveniently presented themselves to be caught and delivered to House Restelo’s men patrolling the streets below.

“I’m just following Sir Jimena’s instructions,” Liam dropped down from the eaves into the alley next to them. “He said you’d handle the prosecution part. What are you charging this guy with, anyway?”

“What was he doing?” Marim asked.

“I don’t know what he was supposed to be doing,” Liam said, “but I caught him watching a woman taking a bath near her window.”

Hoburns was suffering through a particularly hot summer, so most people left their windows open in a desperate bid to stay cool. Little did they know that the rooftops served as a highway for people like Liam.

“Hmm...I can’t exactly blame him for stopping to watch, but I guess it’s his fault for getting caught. It’d be trespassing, at least. How many is that now, seven?”

“Nine,” Liam said.

“Damn. Don’t people know better than to break the law?”

It’s not much of a law if you can’t enforce it...

Of course, most of the people in the Holy Kingdom didn’t think that way. Notions of right and wrong regulated their behaviour far more than the threat of punishment. Most of the people running around on the rooftops thought there was no harm in doing so and were looking for some amusement.

Those that were actually acting as spies or conducting illicit activities were likely few and far between. For Liam, this was unfortunate: he wanted to know what the neighbouring houses were up to as quickly as possible so he could get to work on his new orders.

“I’m going back up,” Liam said. “There’s another guy nearby that I want to nab before he disappears somewhere.”

“Want us to wait down here for you?”

“He’s on top of the apartment block east of this one. I’ll drop him into the next alley.”

Marim nodded to the rest of his patrol. Liam frowned as two of the men carried the downed snoop between them to the next spot. Everything that they did was ‘loud’ in one way or another.

He scrambled back up to the rooftops. Hopefully, the next guy wouldn’t be deterred by the scene. Fortunately, he was just as oblivious as the patrol below and Liam gave him a whack even as his victim watched Liam’s previous victim being carried up the street.

This is like unleashing a cat into a roomful of mice.

It would probably take a few days before all of the people going up on the rooftops for ‘recreational purposes’ to get the hint and stop. After that, he would be free to deal with the rest.

On his way to deliver his newest catch, he came across another man clambering onto the roof. They stared at one another for a moment before Liam got him, too. Marim and his patrol started as both of them fell into a pile of trash nearby.

“What the hell, Liam?” Marim looked up at him, “Is all of Hoburns up there?”

“I think people have just gotten used to playing around on the rooftops,” Liam replied.

“Maybe you’re right,” Marim leaned forward to examine the new deliveries. “Almost everyone you’ve caught can’t be older than twenty. It’s a good thing no one got hurt.”

He was starting to feel bad about knocking them out. In hindsight, telling them to turn themselves in would have probably worked.

“This is a great haul for us, though,” another armsman said.

“They’re not fish,” Liam frowned down from the rooftop.

“They’re kinda like fish,” the man replied. “The palace hands out rewards for...what did they call it?”

“Enforcement efficiency,” Marim said.

“Yeah, that.”

Liam never imagined that the example he had used to explain things to Remedios was actually a thing.

“What do we get for that?” Liam asked.

“I think the Knights have their sights set on controlling more city blocks,” Marim answered. “We can catch more people that way and hobble the competition at the same time.”

“Is there anything that would set us back on that score?”

“His Divine Grace wants the city orderly and peaceful, so anything opposite of that would hurt us.”

If Re-Estize tried to implement the same rewards system, half of the country would be on fire. From what he knew of the Baharuth Empire, it wouldn’t fare that much better.

“Has anyone tried, um...attacking another house’s jurisdiction?” Liam asked.

“Why would they do that?”

“...never mind.”

He was never going to grow at this rate. The Holy Kingdom was pitifully uncompetitive when it came to things that might challenge him as an Assassin.

The influx of thrillseekers petered out as midnight drew close. Liam yawned as he continued to maintain his uneventful vigil over the avenue. There were probably more people to catch in the other parts of House Restelo’s jurisdiction, but he wasn’t certain whether he would be praised for taking initiative or reprimanded for not sticking to his orders.

I can probably use this opening...

Liam dropped into an alley on the eastern side of House Restelo’s jurisdiction and walked out onto the street. Two steps later, he was nearly skewered.

“Woah!” Liam shouted as he danced back from his attacker.

The flickering light of a torch closed from halfway up the block. Liam pointed to his neck. The man’s eyes followed his gesture to the pin on his collar and lowered his spear.

“Sorry about that,” one of the men jogging up to join them said. “Lucas heard we took on a thief-taker and his head’s filled Hoburns with hundreds of Rogues.”

That probably wasn’t incorrect, but they were hardly what everyone feared them to be. Liam fixed his shirt and waved Lucas’ apologetic expression away.

“The next time you stop by the gatehouse,” he said, “can you ask Sir Jimena if he wants me to clean up the rest of our jurisdiction?”

“...the rest?”

“Yeah. He ordered me to stick to this avenue. I wanted to ask about the other places, but I can’t leave my post.”

Lucas sent a fearful look at the rooftops. The rest of the patrol exchanged worried glances.

“So you’re saying that there are Rogues here?”

“Don’t tell me you’re scared of those guys,” Liam rolled his eyes, “every man in the company is stronger than one of them in a straight fight.”

“Yeah, but Rogues fight dirty. What if they’re sneaking around using poisoned daggers?”

“It isn’t as if they’re going to pop up and stab you for no reason. The ones I’ve caught so far have been booked for trespassing, not attempted murder.”

The patrol visibly relaxed at his words. Liam idly wondered how they would react if he told them that there was an Assassin in the city.

“Have there been any thefts?” One of the armsmen asked.

“You’d have to ask Sir Jimena about that. They’d be going through everyone’s belongings at the gatehouse. I’m not going into people’s homes to check if someone’s stealing stuff.”

“That makes sense. We’ll ask Sir Jimena about the rest of the jurisdiction once our patrol gets to the gate.”

“Thanks.”

Liam waited until the patrol reached the next block before sneaking across the street. From there, he made his way to the Water Gardens and entered the Prime Estates through the poorly-guarded Water Gate.

Remedios crossed her arms, looking up at the canopy of her bed.

“Hmm...this is getting complicated. You should speak to Captain Montagnés about this. He should be back any day now.”

“Once we produce results,” Liam said. “I don’t want to needlessly waste the Holy Order’s resources. Anyway, I need to get back before they notice I’m gone.”

“Do you want your stuff?” Remedios asked.

“My stuff...?” Liam frowned as he rose from his seat, “Oh, not yet. I just got into one of their elite retinues, so suddenly showing up with a full set of fancy equipment would be super suspicious.”

“Alright.”

Liam went to the nearest window and peeked out of the curtains before stepping onto the windowsill.

“Liam.”

“Yeah?”

He turned to see Remedios grinning happily at him from her bed.

“You’re a good guy. Thanks for not letting me down.”

Liam nodded silently and grabbed the eaves overhanging the window, flipping himself up onto the rooftop. He couldn’t find anyone snooping around, though the type of spying that the locals did probably wasn’t worth it so late at night. After returning to the western blocks, he located the patrol that he had contacted before he left. This time, he waited on the street well ahead of them instead of popping up nearby.

“Oh, hey, it’s...Liam, right? Thought we missed you.”

“Something caught my attention,” Liam said, “but it turned out to be nothing. What did Sir Jimena say?”

“He says to hold off for now.”

“Really? Why?”

“You’ve overloaded the gatehouse. It never had much holding space in the first place and they filled the customs office, too. The last few guys you turned in are just dangling their heels over the edge of the wall. Oh, Sir Jimena wants a word with you at the end of the shift.”

He hoped he wouldn’t get yelled at. As dawn rose over the capital, he warded away a dozen more people, including two who crawled out of their windows to have breakfast on the rooftops. Once he spotted A Company’s men coming to replace the night shift, he made his way to the western gatehouse. Sir Jimena was speaking to the same Knight from the previous evening in the captain’s office. They both looked over in his direction when he rapped his knuckles on the wooden column at the top of the stairs.

“Liam,” Sir Jimena nodded. “Come in. This is Sir Pires, Captain of A Company.”

“So you’re the new thief-catcher,” the tall redhead said. “How about working on the day shift?”

“Any man working on the rooftops during the day is just asking to get cooked, sir.”

Sir Pires chuckled at his response.

“Yet they say A Company is the choice assignment,” he said. “It’s no better baking on the street, I tell you.”

“What’s your assessment of our jurisdiction so far?” Sir Jimena asked.

“There are too many people playing around up there right now, sir,” Liam asked. “That’s a type of protection on its own. Once we thin them out, we’ll get a real idea of how many are being sent over on purpose.”

The Knight picked up a small pouch from the captain’s desk and lobbed it at Liam. It landed in his palm with an audible clink.

“What’s this for, sir?” Liam asked.

“Good work is rewarded,” Sir Jimena answered. “That’s how it should be, right?”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Return to the camp and get some rest. You’ll be clearing another part of our jurisdiction tonight.”

Liam saluted and descended the stairs. Despite only covering a handful of city blocks, his new job was far more demanding than escort duties between Hoburns and Canta. He yawned and stretched as he walked down the western highway, wondering what was for dinner.

“Ah, Liam, you’re just in time!”

Liam froze at the edge of the camp offices, where Sir Jorge was waving him over with a huge smile.

“Just in time?”

“A fresh batch of girls has come in!”

The guy just wouldn’t give up.

What does he mean by ‘fresh batch’, anyway? Do they pick girls off of trees here? Are there different seasons for different types?

“I just moved,” Liam said. “It’s been a busy night, too. Maybe later.”

“No, Liam, you do not understand!” Sir Jorge came up and fell into step beside him. “You are in B Company now. The elite companies get to pick the best girls first, and it is first come, first serve. Those left unchosen will surely be snapped up when they are passed down to the lower camps. There is no ‘maybe later’.”

That’s not the point...

He was still sore from being in bed with Remedios. Any involvement with girls was even further from his mind than usual.

“Come,” Jorge rested a hand on his shoulder, “We’re going by them right now. It is not good for a man of your status to be alone, hm?”

Liam sighed and allowed himself to be led aside. The aforementioned ‘best girls’ were lined up on a wooden platform placed in a patch of morning light. He had to admit they were all well above average in terms of looks. Whoever made the arrangements even made sure that there were a variety of different types available. All of them were young, with none appearing past their teens.

A crowd of men had formed around them, but none were allowed on the platform. Liam glanced at their longing looks as Sir Jorge led him up to see the girls. It seemed that they were on display as yet another ‘incentive’ for performance. As far as ideas went to improve camp operations, it probably wasn’t a bad idea considering how hard it was to motivate anyone to do more than the bare minimum. He knew that more than a few people didn’t care too much about wealth but went crazy over women.

“Please,” Jorge nudged him forward. “Do not hold back on our account.”

No, it’s more that I’m holding back on my account.

Jorge was all smiles, entirely oblivious to Liam’s thoughts. Now that it had become a matter of status, he wasn’t sure how he could worm his way out. Nobles and their retainers were very particular about certain things and life would get increasingly difficult the more he went against their customs. Being seen as a deviant would probably create all sorts of trouble for him.

Ugh, I can’t even look them in the eye.

Never mind the envious gazes of the men below, the women were sizing him up as well. It was like he was a piece of meat being assessed by the women who were in turn being assessed like pieces of meat by the crowd.

How could he even decide? The ‘best girls’ were selected for their looks alone. Additionally, it looked like the camp had taken them in – or maybe picked them out – to be fed and groomed until they were presentable as prime products for the privileged. Yet, despite that, he could still sense their desperation.

No, it’s worse than that. They’re all scared.

Whether it was fear of selection or rejection and what might come after that, he couldn’t tell.

As a follower of The Six, he had no intention of marrying someone until he was twenty. The Priests said that starting to consider prospective partners was fine when one got to around seventeen or eighteen, but twelve was far too young to even start thinking about it.

Never mind me, they’re all young, too...hm, how about this...

“I’m looking for someone who can read and do math,” Liam said. “Please step forward if you can do both.”

Only one of the girls stepped forward.

Well, that certainly narrows things down.

She appeared to be around Liam’s age and was a bit taller than him. She was also the prettiest out of the group, though that was probably just his opinion. Liam walked up to the girl, who looked uncertain as to what was going on.

“I’m Liam,” he said. “What’s your name?”

“...Natalia,” the girl’s gaze went to the floor of the platform. “Natalia Abarca.”

“Pleased to meet you, Miss Abarca,” Liam smiled and held out his hand. “Let’s go.”